Why'd we get it so wrong? Vedic astrologer tries to explain. "He said, "Believe it or not, Carol. I hope Donald Trump wins." "WHAT?" I asked, incredulous. "Why would you hope a man with no previous military or public service, and a temperament the majority of Americans think is unfit... Continue reading

Like pretty much everyone else in the universe who isn't in the cast of Hamilton, I have been having a rough year. My rent got raised so much that I had to move out of my beloved big apartment after 15 years to a smaller one, and spent almost half... Continue reading

Here's the sequel to the customer service essay: Dear Callers: Yes, I know you're angry at me. I couldn't provide you with the answers you wanted in this situation. Here is why: I am a warm body forced to answer the phones at the last minute because somebody didn't call... Continue reading

You think this is a joke, right? Oh no, no it's not. So as I read through all of the various presidents, I finally got to Millard Fillmore. If you've ever heard of the guy, you'll think two things: (a) "Who is that?" and (b) "What a turd of a... Continue reading

I'm late getting this out, I was out having fun all day. canoe.com: "Happy Birthday: Continue to make progress. Don't give in to temptation or lose sight of what you want to achieve. Growth is the goal, and putting what you learn to the test will bring you to a... Continue reading

Some people want to get out of jury duty. Other folks would like to give it a go. As a person who's made it onto three juries, I think I've got a pretty good idea by now who makes it in or out. How Jury Duty Works In California (I... Continue reading

This is probably part one of a series. I get called for jury duty a lot. To date, I'm about to start my seventh bout of it tomorrow. Whee! Six times called for county, and one time for FEDERAL, which I didn't even know was a thing until that happened.... Continue reading

I've never worked retail or food service in my life, which is an extreme blessing (or just comes along with not being able to drive to a crappy job as a teenager, really) in this day and age. I occasionally worked at someone's booth or volunteered somewhere--and I do currently... Continue reading

As per my previous essay, here are some thoughts I have on the similarities between the first ten presidents that I've been reading about: Most of them were from Virginia (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, and Tyler), though Harrison was the only one of that bunch to move away. Tyler... Continue reading

Yeah, it's been a few weeks and whatever happened to that "do two essays a week" plan? Well, I have essay ideas, but unfortunately they are involving research and reading (and more specifically, finding time to type up some notes and synthesize stuff), and I am not done with that... Continue reading

"This Pisces season has been awful. We have struggled with feelings of powerlessness, worthlessness, and an overwhelming fatigue. We are jaded and have given up almost all hope- almost. It is the moment after a crushing defeat, right before your opponent lands the final blow, taking you out for good-... Continue reading

I have a really good essay idea I'm working on, but it involves research and I'm still typing up notes about it, so darn it, I'm not ready to go with it yet. But it's already Friday and let's not get too behind, so here's (speaking of) an improved one....... Continue reading

I've been having issues with talking about technical problems of late. For example: I've had a car for a few years. I took a class on car mechanics so I could learn how to not be a clueless noob when it came to vehicles. However, the class was super busy... Continue reading

On Monday, I attended a showing of "Binge-Worthy Journalism: Backstage with the Creators of Serial," with Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder. Both co-produce, Sarah reports and Julie edits. (They also look darned similar on stage.) When we came in, there was a sort of slideshow of ALL of the various... Continue reading

The following writing is not really so much of an essay for the challenge as intended, but I was writing this up for the folks of Metafilter anyway, and the rest of the week has been nuts and I haven't gotten to as much as I wanted to this week.... Continue reading

I'm a negative person and I admit it. Some of us were genetically engineered to look for positive hope and happiness and optimism and the other half of us were genetically engineered to keep an eye out for what might go wrong, doing contingency planning, and making sure people bring... Continue reading

I'm going to get in trouble for this one, but eh, I'm not publicizing this. Yes, it's a petty way to start a series of essays, but that makes it quicker to knock off while doing 750words.com. Why do people talk to themselves? No, seriously, I don't get why this... Continue reading